Government officials yesterday urged Nauru not to be taken in by Beijing after the president from the tiny Pacific island -- without the backing of his Cabinet -- sealed an agreement in Hong Kong establishing diplomatic ties with China and turning its back on Taiwan.
"Nauru's acting president Remy Namaduk said he and the majority of the Cabinet members disagreed with the president's decision," said Katharine Chang (
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
"He said he has tried to persuade the president to think twice, asking us to give them some time," Chang said, declining to announce any decision to sever diplomatic ties with Nauru.
The press conference was held hours after President of Nauru Rene Harris signed a joint communique with the Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Zhou Wenzhong (
The China-Nauru deal was sealed on the basis of China's promise to offer Nauru US$60 million in financial aid as well as the promise to repay debt worth US$77 million owed to the General Electric Co, Chang said.
President Chen Shui-bian (
Chang said Taipei is "unwilling" to go ahead with what she called a "cash competition" with China in order to secure diplomatic ties with the 21km2 nation with an estimated population of around 11,845.
"Nauru has faced onerous financial difficulties and has made quite a lot requests to us. We are willing to help ... but we won't accept any demand that goes beyond what we consider the reasonable scale," Chang said.
According to the CIA World Factbook, Nauru is burdened with external debts of about US$33.3 million.
During a meeting in Australia on June 15 with Peter Cheng (
Chang urged Harris to reconsider his decision to switch recognition to Beijing. "China has often made promises, only to find itself unable to keep them," Chang said.
Chang said the foreign ministry has known of various previous contacts between Nauru and China in recent years and knew about Harris' trip to Hong Kong.
But she admitted that Taipei was in the dark about the signing until China's state-run Xinhua news agency revealed the episode yesterday.
Harris' move in Hong Kong also took the rest of the Cabinet members in Nauru by surprise, officials said.
"They would not have thought that it could happen. Harris was on leave in Australia to cure his eye aliment. And then he informed the Cabinet of his decision to fly to Hong Kong to have clothes tailored before flying to Malaysia for vacation," an insider said.
On July 17, Harris phoned Namaduk to reveal China's promise to offer financial assistance to Nauru in exchange for switching ties, government sources said.
Harris also asked Namaduk to convene an emergency Cabinet meeting to endorse his decision to take up Beijing's offer, a motion later denied by the Cabinet, the insider said.
Chang stressed that the issue still hung in the balance as internal disagreements within the Nauru government over the decision to cut ties with Taiwan have yet to be resolved.
As of 11pm local time in Nauru, Namaduk and Nauru's finance minister, Godfrey Thoma, were still gathering at Taipei's embassy in the tiny pacific state, trying to persuade Harris to change his mind, government sources said.
"We have to watch closely whether Harris will fly to Beijing, or he whether he'll go to Malaysia to receive [medical] treatment," the insider said.
Nauru government officials were not available yesterday for comment.
After being contacted by Taipei's representative Kuo Sheng-ming (
"Any country that wishes to forge friendly relations with Nauru must do so without any conditions attached to the friendship. To ask for such would seriously undermine Nauru's sovereignty," the letter stated.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source